1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to information processing and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus, a method for controlling an information processing apparatus, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional information processing apparatuses offer, as a method for enabling a user to input a character thereto, the method of displaying a software keyboard (hereinafter also referred to as “soft keyboard”) on a display unit equipped with a touch panel to allow a user to input a character by pressing a soft key on the soft keyboard.
Another method for character input is connecting a hardware keyboard (hereinafter also referred to as “hard keyboard”) to an information processing apparatus and pressing a hard key on the hard keyboard to input a character.
For example, when a user wants to input a long character string in a predetermined input item in order for processing to be performed by an information processing apparatus, the user may prefer to input the characters with using a hard keyboard which can realize a fast input of characters.
In this case, the user first specifies an input item displayed on a display unit. When the user specifies the input item, the information processing apparatus is set in an input mode, and displays a soft keyboard on the display unit. In this state, the user inputs characters from a hardware keyboard if any hardware keyboard is connected to the information processing apparatus.
As a conventional technique for converting an input from a hard keyboard into an input on a soft keyboard, there is known the invention discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-293407.
However, after a user finishes inputting characters with use of the hard keyboard, if the hard keyboard is a general-purpose keyboard, the user cannot easily close a soft keyboard because such a hard keyboard does not have a key for closing the soft keyboard. Closing the soft keyboard is possible by pressing a button displayed on the soft keyboard that is prepared to close the soft keyboard. However, this method requires a user to move his/her hand from the hard keyboard to the soft keyboard to press the button for closing the soft keyboard after the user finishes inputting characters every time the user inputs characters, thereby failing to realize intuitive closing of the soft keyboard.
Therefore, the user cannot carry out a series of operations from character input using the hard keyboard to closing of the soft keyboard after completion of the character input, only from an input from the hard keyboard. In this way, the conventional art has an issue of poor operability.